Hear me out

This might be an unpopular take, but I don't think the dragon (the ML) is as cruel as we think. I am not excusing his behaviour or that I'm siding with him. Not at all. I still think he's an asshole. I also think that he deserves to suffer more and that he needs to keep groveling to our MC to get his forgiveness.

But at this point in the past, I can clearly see that he has started to fall in love with our MC. He has also started to care about MC's health and wellbeing. Though his words and the way he expressed his actions doesn't looked like it. That might be because he isn't use to being kind, caring, and—obviously—humane.

He is Dragon Lord. A God. Who was taught that he is everything and anything, and that humans are beneath him. And that's why he is very arrogant, mean, and unkind. He doesn't think what he does is wrong because he was taught that he was above everything. He doesn't know and doesn't understand that they way he communicates and convey things, are very very BAD and CRUEL.

This past few chapters, I can clearly see that he's trying to be a good lover to our MC, such as taking care of his cravings, his health—both mentally and physically —, and that currently he's prioritizing MC's wellbeing than his own heir. He wants the MC to be healthy and to be rid of the curse, while he still have powers to do so. His way of conveying it though ? Extremely AWFUL.

Again, I'm not siding with him or excusing his behaviors. He is a jerk and a massive asshole. But he's not as evil as we all depicted him to be. So yeah, let's just wish of his suffering for waiting MC for centuries, and the groveling he will need to do.